Meanwhile, perhaps "Selma" wasn't that great a movie, with limited
demographic appeal. Oh, that's racist! And Paramount Pictures botched
its rollout of early-screening DVDs to academy members? Well, you won't
be hearing much about that in race-mongering MSM denunciations of the
"racist" film industry.

With more than a thousand militants killed and territory slipping
away, the Islamic State group is losing its grip on the Syrian border
town of Kobani under intense U.S.-led airstrikes and astonishingly stiff
resistance by Kurdish fighters.

It is a stunning reversal for the Islamic State group, which just
months ago stood poised to conquer the entire town — and could pierce a
carefully crafted image of military strength that helped attract foreign
fighters and spread horror across the Middle East.

"An IS defeat in Kobani would quite visibly undermine the perception of
unstoppable momentum and inevitable victory that IS managed to project,
particularly after it captured Mosul," said Faysal Itani, a fellow at
the Atlantic Council, referring to the militants' seizure of Iraq's
second-largest city during its blitz into Iraq from Syria last summer.

It would also rob the group of a "psychological edge that both
facilitated recruitment and intimidated actual and potential rivals, as
well as the populations IS controlled," Itani said. (AP)

Central banks lie. That is what they do. Not too long ago, the Swiss
National Bank promised that it would defend the euro/Swiss franc
currency peg with the “utmost determination”. But on Thursday, the
central bank shocked the financial world by abruptly abandoning it.

More than three years ago, the Swiss National Bank announced that it
would not allow the Swiss franc to fall below 1.20 to the euro, and it
has spent a mountain of money defending that peg. But now that it looks
like the EU is going to launch a very robust quantitative easing
program, the Swiss National Bank has thrown in the towel. It was simply
going to cost way too much to continue to defend the currency floor.
So now there is panic all over Europe.

Among the latest proposals aimed at reducing gun violence is an idea
being advanced by Pennsylvania state Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland that would
outlaw a specific type of target from the state’s gun ranges. In a summary posted
online, the Democrat lawmaker explained the rationale behind banning
civilians from taking aim at human silhouettes while participating in
firearms training.

One-hundred fifty years ago an enemy invasion fleet landed troops at Fort Fisher after a fierce bombardment, beginning a military campaign which would end North Carolina’s second bid for political independence. This fort began existence as Battery Bolles in early 1861 and steadily grew into a mammoth earthen fortification under the direction of Col. William Lamb and Gen. W.H.C. Whiting. The garrison troops, black and white, were assisted in daily construction activity by African slaves hired out by area plantations – all were responsible for the impressive work that defended the Cape Fear River and Wilmington.

Notable among the fort’s heroic defenders, who all fought with a grim determination though outnumbered by an enemy nearly ten times their number, were black soldiers of the Thirty-sixth and Fortieth Regiments, North Carolina Troops (NCT). At the final capitulation of the fort, Charles and Henry Dempsey, both privates in Company F, Thirty-sixth Regiment, NCT; Privates Arthur and Miles Reed of Company D, Fortieth Regiment, NCT; Private J. Doyle of Company E; Private Everett Hayes of Company F, Tenth Regiment, NCT; and regimental cook Daniel Herring.

A total of nine black soldiers surrender to the enemy at Fort Fisher, and this does not include those who escaped capture by crossing the river to Fort Anderson.

Most if not all the black soldiers captured were imprisoned at Point Lookout, Maryland along with their white fellow soldiers. Unlike the segregated black Northern units that landed with white enemy troops, Southern black men fought alongside their comrades in integrated companies with little if any distinction of skin color. The Dempsey brothers served with other men from Halifax, Edgecombe, Nash, Pitt and Wayne counties; the Reed brothers did the same with their white neighbors from Craven, Wilson, Wayne and Lenoir counties.

These patriotic black soldiers, who were paid with virtually worthless money, fought bravely alongside fellow North Carolinians in defense of their homes, families, neighbors, State and country.

Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"
www.ncwbts150.com
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"

More than half of British Jewish people fear Jews have no future in
the UK, according to a new study which also reveals that antisemitic
sentiments are more prevalent than widely believed.

British society is at a “tipping point” with Jewish families
increasingly questioning whether to stay in the country, campaigners
claim today.

The warning is bolstered by a new YouGov poll showing
that 45 per cent of Britons agreed with at least one of four
antisemitic statements put to them. Some 25 per cent agreed with the
idea that “Jews chase money more than other British people” while one in
five accepted as true that “Jews’ loyalty to Israel makes them less
loyal to Britain than other British people”.

In the municipality of Örebro the ruling body have highlighted the
problem of IS-sympathizers.

According to Councillor Rasmus Persson (C),
they municipality will try to help the IS-warriors who returns to Orebro
getting a job and get psychological help for their traumatic
experiences.

- We have discussed how we should work for these
guys who have come back, to make them not go back, and that they should
be helped to process the traumatic experiences they have been through,
says Rasmus Persson (C) to SVT Tvärsnytt.

The City Council has
also reasoned regarding the possibility of offering the returning men
jobs, to reduce the effects of social exclusion, which they see as being
a part of the reason why the men choose to take part in the fighting in
Iraq and Syria.

Country music singer Travis Tritt recently tweeted a controversial
comment in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shooting. The tweet was in
support of gun owners but at the same time took an implicit swipe at
Muslims and the liberal media. The tweet has generated the predictable
outrage, but also a lot of supportive replies.

It is interesting that we are asked to NOT judge all
Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics. Too bad gun owners can’t get
same judgement [sic].

A quick Google search reveals that Travis Tritt is an open
Republican, which is exactly what you would expect him to be if he
weren’t a celebrity. Tritt is a male country music singer from Marietta,
Georgia (pronounce May-Rhetta by us Georgians) which likely makes him
what I’ll call a visceral Red. In the US, musicians, actors and other
celebrities are generally associated with liberalism, but liberalism and
the Democrat party coalition have become increasingly focused on
upholding the PC narrative and enforcing rightthink, and much less
concerned with the economic status of the working man.

Harbinger of what's to become of US "rebel army" it plans to stand up in spring.

Reported along the peripheries of
the Western media, it was reported recently that some 3,000 so-called
"moderate rebels" of the "Free Syrian Army" had defected to the "Islamic State" (ISIS).
While not the first time so-called "moderates" have crossed over
openly to Al Qaeda or ISIS, it is one of the largest crossovers that has
occurred.

With them, these 3,000 fighters will bring weapons,
cash, equipment, and training provided to them by Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
the United States, the UK, and perhaps most ironic of all in the wake of
the recent terror attack in Paris, France.
Indeed, ISIS and Al Qaeda's ranks continue to swell amid this insidious
network of "terror laundering" that is only set to grow.

Even while our media pay lip service to freedom of expression in France,
the pressure to conform to the left-wing homosexual agenda continues in
the U.S. and has now scored a direct hit on the Fox News Channel. Fox
News personality Bret Baier has been forced to pull out of a Catholic
Christian conference because of homosexual pressure.

Once again, for all the world to see, we have a stark example of how the
freedom to object to the homosexual agenda is being denied to those in
the news business.

Baier has been an outspoken conservative voice at the channel, hosting
the blockbuster "13 Hours: The Inside Story," a Fox News special
featuring exclusive interviews with the American security operatives who
fought on the ground during the terrorist attacks in Benghazi.

The Baier case comes on the heels of the firing of Atlanta Fire Chief
Kelvin Cochran because of a book he wrote for a men's Bible study group
at his Baptist church that included statements in favor of traditional marriage and values.

The few remaining white commercial farmers are reportedly living in fear
after ruling party activists and war veterans issued threats to take
over farms.

THE newly-appointed Mashonaland East provincial Minister of State,
Joel Biggie Matiza, has threatened to evict the remaining white
commercial farmers in the province, claiming that they continued to
illegally farm through unsanctioned and corrupt deals.

Matiza told the state media that he supports the demands of Zanu PF
supporters and war veterans who have recently called for the eviction of
the white farmers from the province.

There’s a solitary man at the financial center of the Ferguson protest movement. No, it’s not victim Michael Brown or Officer Darren Wilson. It’s not even the Rev. Al Sharpton, despite his ubiquitous campaign on TV and the streets.

Rather, it’s liberal billionaire George Soros,
who has built a business empire that dominates across the ocean in
Europe while forging a political machine powered by nonprofit
foundations that impacts American politics and policy, not unlike what
he did with MoveOn.org.

Mr. Soros spurred the Ferguson
protest movement through years of funding and mobilizing groups across
the U.S., according to interviews with key players and financial records
reviewed by The Washington Times.

As we observe the Sesquicentennial of the final defense of Fort Fisher and Wilmington in 1865, we should deeply reflect upon the “what and why” of these historic events and view them all in a proper light.

Like the North Carolina patriots of the Revolution who resisted British invasion of the Cape Fear as they fought for independence, Wilmington’s Committee of Safety in 1861 quickly took control of area defenses to protect their homes, families and country. Wilmington’s patriots of ’61 fought for independence as well and would construct the ironclads CSS North Carolina and Raleigh for the same reasons their Revolutionary fathers built the brigs George Washington and Eclipse -- to defend the Cape Fear River from invasion.

The Northern troops aboard the immense fleet in 1865 were there for the sole purpose of overpowering defenses designed to protect the Cape Fear and North Carolina. Once ashore and in control of the forts, enemy intentions were to capture and subjugate Wilmington and place the city under martial law. Afterward, the enemy army would move inland to seize transportation and industrial facilities, deny North Carolinians the ability to defend themselves, plus loot farms and homes at will. They would then capture and occupy the State capital of Raleigh, overthrow the government of North Carolina and imprison its elected governor.

And this sad result was followed by 10 years of political corruption, despotism and racial turmoil incited by Northern political adventurers and carpetbaggers. This is what Fort Fisher’s patriotic garrison of North Carolinians fought to prevent.

And a word about Fort Fisher’s defenders.

We often hear that “Confederates” garrisoned Fort Fisher, though it should be trumpeted loudly that these were men from New Hanover, Brunswick, Bladen, Edgecombe, Carteret, Columbus, Sampson, Cumberland, Wayne, Duplin, Wake, Green, Beaufort, Lenoir and Craven Counties. More than just “Confederates,” these were North Carolina patriots defending their homes and country.

These and other North Carolina patriots garrisoned Forts Holmes, Caswell, Johnston, Campbell, Fisher and Anderson – all there for the protection of the Cape Fear from enemy invasion. At Wilmington were stationed Companies A through G of the Fayetteville Armory Guards under Col. Frederick L. Childs. They were there to help repel the enemy.

Though not battle-hardened veterans, Fort Fisher’s garrison fought a desperate battle from traverse to traverse and forced the enemy to pay very dearly for what they conquered. Both the fort commander Col. William Lamb and Gen. W.H.C. Whiting were severely wounded, only Lamb survived. This is a testament to the bravery of men who performed their duty heroically, and with their families and homes at their backs -- no finer patriots and soldiers could be found.

Remember too, the worried families of those within the forts, watching from the western bank of the Cape Fear with trepidation as enemy projectiles exploded within the forts their loved ones were defending. Think of what these women and children experienced that winter of 1864-65 – food scarcity, and a humiliating occupation by enemy troops should the defenders of the Cape Fear be overwhelmed. And worse, would they ever see their brothers, fathers and sons again – dead or sent into captivity.

These should be our foremost thoughts during this Fort Fisher Sesquicentennial Observance. Let us keep in mind what was lost, what those North Carolinians were defending against, and how we today might honor and emulate their legacy of duty.

Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"
www.ncwbts150.com
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"

The title of this missive is disquietingly reminescent of Lenin's
1902 pamphlet of the same name, itself inspired by Chernyshevsky's 1863
social-utopian novel, again of the same title. Lenin's work, however,
was an interrogatory, a philosophical pleading written almost two
decades before the Revolution. The West is too far advanced in
existential struggle against militant Islam for philosophical tracts
exhorting the common man to overthrow his tormentors. We are all the
common man now, and our tormentors arise not from our own one-percenters
(lucky though they be), but from foreign nihilists aspiring to
worldwide medieval bloodlust.

No, the wretched fact is, and remains, that the West has been at war
with militant Islam, off and on, for 1,400 years. As has the Caucasus,
the Subcontinent, and Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa. It was not until
the defenestration of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the Great War, in
fact, that Balkan peoples could sleep without a weapon by the bedside
and a weather eye turned south. Indeed, 1.5 million Armenians were
slaughtered by the Turks in the very midst of that Great War. Fully half
their population destroyed in a genocide many still refuse to name.
Islamic aggression has surged and ebbed over the centuries as necessity
dictated, but every opportunity for conquest has historically been
exploited; it is a thirst that continues to this day.

Remembrance

To die for one’s country is not only an act of bravery, it is THE act of bravery. For soldiers, it is just an extension of their military career, a part of their duty. As leaders have asked their soldiers to sacrifice themselves for the good of the society, it is only right for leaders to go through the same motion. They should practice what they have preached.

As war is seen as a noble act, tu sat serves as redemption in case of defeat. It is also a way to tell the enemy: “You might have won the battle/war but you don’t deserve to win because you don’t have the chinh nghia (just cause).” And it is not only just cause: it is the moral belief that the cause they are fighting for deserves their total sacrifice. Continues below

Follow by Email

Counter

Core Creek Militia

==============================My sixth great grandfather, his wife, and five of his six children were killed in battle with the Tuscarora Indians at Core Creek, NC.

The Seven Blackbirds

==============================My third great grandfather was an Ensign in the Revolutionary War, and saved his unit's flag after being wounded at the Battle of Brandywine. He was also at Kingston (Kinston), Wilmington, Charleston, Two Sisters and Augusta. He was at the defeat at Brier Creek and also Bee Creek.

Requiem Aeternam -
Eternal Rest Grant unto Them
==============================
My second great grandfather was killed in action on May 3, 1863 at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
=============================
My great grandfather and great uncle knew all the men in the "Civil War Requiem" video as they were part of the 53rd NC which was the sole unit defending Fort Mahone. (Fort Mahone was named "Fort Damnation" by the Yankees) *Handpicked men of the 53rd (My great grandfather was one of these) made the final, night assault at Petersburg in an attempt to break Grant's line. This was against Fort Stedman which was a few miles to the slight northeast. They initially succeeded, but reinforcements drove them back. This video is made from photographs which were taken the day after the 53rd evacuated the lines the night before to begin the retreat to Appomattox. I have many more pictures taken by the same photographer, one of these shows a 14 year old boy and the other is the famous picture of the blond, handsome soldier with his musket.
===========================
*General Gordon promised the men a gold medal and 30 days leave if they accomplished their task and many years after the War my great grandfather wrote General Gordon, who was then governor of Georgia about this incident. They exchanged several letters which I have framed. See first link below.
===========================
*The Attack On Fort Stedman
============================
"His Colored Friends"
============================
Lee's Surrender
=============================
My Black NC Kinfolks
============================
Punished For Being Caught!

Great Grandfather Koonce

He was a drummer boy in the WBTS, survived the War only to die a few years later. He was caught in an ice storm on his way home, but instead of seeking shelter, continued on his horse until the end. His clothes had to be cut off and he died a few days later.